The line is re-opening after a four-year break following meetings between Turkish and Iranian officials in May, the website said.

Turkey and Iran will restart a train service between Ankara and Tehran this week, left-wing news website Haber Sol reported citing a Turkish minister.

The Trans Asia Express will carry passengers and freight from Wednesday, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Barkanı Turhan said, according to Haber Sol.

The line is re-opening after a four-year break following meetings between Turkish and Iranian officials in May, the website said.

Turkey and Iran have enjoyed closer relations under the 17-year rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party (AKP), which sought closer relations with Turkey’s neighbours and a stronger regional profile for the country.

Erdoğan’s AKP has been reluctant to impose U.S.-led economic sanctions on the Islamic republic. A scandal involving an alleged oil-for-gold swap deal during the previous U.S. sanctions regime had raised political tensions between the two NATO allies and led to the imprisonment of a senior official of a Turkish state-run bank in the United States.

Turkey has slashed oil imports from Iran after a latest wave of measures against Tehran introduced by President Donald Trump. Turkey still imports natural gas from Iran, the country’s second largest supplier after Russia.

The Ukraine News has steadfast principle of delivering reliable, objective and fast news on daily basis. Its extensive network both in Ukraine and across the world, combined with its experience and quality, gives ukraynahaber.com the competitive edge.